Memories
by mediator-querida7
Summary: Paul knows he and Suze should be together. He is determined to get rid of Jesse so he can have Suze to himself. Will he wind up with murder on his hands? Jesse's blood for Suze's heart? Or worse? * New Updates Soon! Sorry for the wait! *
1. Chapter 1

I yawned and sat up on the soft towel I'd been laying on. I could feel the hot

sand even through the soft terrycloth. It was a beautiful day at Carmel-by-the-Sea,

except for the dark clouds to the West. I looked at CeeCee as she sat up too and

reached for a diet soda. She smiled at me and took a sip. As she set the can down, she

lay her head back down on Adam's chest. I grinned and thought of how, just three

weeks ago, Adam had asked CeeCee to the dance and shown her that he really did like

her. So much had happened since then. Most of all though was the fact that my

boyfriend was, well, alive.

Thinking of him forced me, much to my delight, to look down at him in his swim

trunks. He was gorgeous. Deep, dark eyes and silk hair, and then… My eyes wandered

past his sculpted face and neck, past the book he was reading about important medical

miracles, and down to his abs. I sighed inwardly and smiled again at his perfect body

and face. His name was Jesse… and he used to be dead.

Okay, fine. I admit it. Jesse was dead. The keyword there is was, as in, no

longer dead. I allowed myself to close my eyes and leaned back down to Jesse's side.

After all we'd been through, I can't imagine being with anyone else. Jesse was the one

I loved.

A loud noise woke us all from our dreamy, very not-real mindset. "Damn," Adam

said, still lying down, "Thunder."

"Suze, should we go?" CeeCee asked, as if I would know exactly what the

weather was planning on doing today.

I thought for a second. I mean, who really wanted to disrupt the perfect beach

day? Another clash of thunder reminded me that today was most definitely not the

perfect day. I did not want to go home. Most likely Doc was studying his summer

NASA space camp brochure for the two week computer camp to simulate computers on

a rocket. It was good to see Doc getting more adventurous in his computer lore but as

soon as I would walk in that door, he would start telling me about program after

program and application after application. Don't get me wrong, he's the one

stepbrother I can stand, but honestly, I've already sat through an hour of it, listening

politely. I was done for the day. But where else could we go?

"Jesse, are you open for a while to hang out at the Coffee Clutch?" I asked him.

He looked up from his book. Oh, God, those eyes. I just fell into them, like an

out-of-body experience. Trust me, I know what out-of-body experiences are like and

this was the most amazing one I've ever had. Although I've only had one other one and

it was one in which I almost died… for none other than Jesse, but still, close enough,

right? "Of course, querida"

And I just melted. How bad is that? One word and I'm gone. Querida, he'd said.

The packing up of the beach stuff and the drive to the Coffee Clutch was all blurred to

me. Ever since I'd gotten Jesse back, everything he said was so amazing. Oh, but

there was one thing that snapped me out of my daze, and quick. Into the coffee shop

came a ripped, blue-eyed hottie. I would have been totally interested in checking him

out, just a bit, if he wasn't someone I despised. "Paul," I muttered.

Jesse immediately took notice to the nightmare who had also just noticed us.

Jesse wrapped his muscular arm around my waist and pulled me close. Paul looked

unmoved at first, but I could tell by his eyes that he felt complete hatred toward us.

Well, at least Jesse. I'm just a girl he said he was in love with. As if.

Paul passed and without a word we all sat down at a booth. "What was that all about?"

I smiled as CeeCee giggled at Adam's clueless question. She was extremely

happy today I guess… plus she knew what the whole deal was with Jesse, Paul, and I.

Yesterday I had spilled it all, from the time I was two and had met my first ghost all

the way to the present. She knew more than my friend Gina, in fact.

"How did finals go, girls?" Adam asked, recovering with his usual cockiness.

"Mine are great. I aced them all!"

"You aced them all except Biology."

"Suze Simon! Honestly. I did NOT mean to flip over the lab tray onto Kelly

Prescott. Plus that wasn't even part of the final, thank you very much."

"Adam," I laughed, "It had a dead frog on it! Half dissected too! Who wouldn't

want to dump it onto her? And it _should_ have been part of the final. Sister Talia hates

Kelly as much as you do."

The whole table laughed, even Jesse who, as a ghost and as a person had heard

the tales of Kelly's various snobberies. Accompanying those laughs was the shriek of

the very same person we were talking about.


	2. Chapter 2

"You're leaving!?! After I let my parents leave on a month-long Maui vacation you are leaving?" Kelly Prescott burst

into tears and several people in the coffee clutch rolled their eyes, grabbed their various coffee drinks, and left. The only

people in there now were Adam, CeeCee, Jesse, me, A fat old guy waiting tables, and of course Kelly and Paul.

"Kelly, my parents insisted-"

"No, Paul! My parents insisted or whatever and now I am going to be stuck here with _no one_. Debbie is on a cruise

in the Caribbean, and Caitlyn is in Orlando! And now you are leaving? You, the one who told me to ditch Maui and

stay for you!" Kelly shrieked again in a vicious rage. "You know what? I think it's better if we don't see each other anymore!"

"Fine, Kelly. I didn't like you that much anyway. You're shallow, conceited and basically a bitch!"

And with that, Paul got a manicured slap in the face. The sound resounded all through the small, stuffy coffeehouse.

Adam inhaled sharply and touched his cheek, glad he wasn't the one to receive it. CeeCee and I looked at Jesse as he

tried not to laugh. This was definitely making his day.

Paul whipped his face back to its normal position and stalked out of the shop. With a hmph! Kelly turned

and walked out the opposite door.

"Oh. My. God." I breathed.

"Yes, Susannah?"

"Do you know what this means, Jesse? CeeCee?"

"You can have Paul all to yourself when he gets back from vacation?" CeeCee and I laughed, almost

maniacally at the thought.

Jesse faced me, sitting next to him, a question in his eyes. "Oh, Jesse," I giggled, breathlessly, "I don't love Paul!"

"Susannah!" His face showed frustration but a little amusement. Geez, those _eyes._

"Yes, Jesse?"

"What does it mean?"

"Huh?" I asked, "Oh! That thing about Paul, well his being gone means we can have a nightmare free summer!

Or at least until he gets back."

CeeCee and I broke into new peals of laughter. She thought I was joking, I suppose, but really I wasn't.

Without Paul here, life would be better than ever.

** Hey, thanks for the support guys! ****Chapter 3**** up soon, I swear! Oh, and if you want to send me a message, the email is****loveandnevaleave**** no spaces****, okay? ****Xoxo**** Michelle **


	3. Chapter 3

** Wow, thanks to all the messages! Here's chapter 3! Reviews, por favor? Ha ha! **

"Jesse, where are you? Jesse? Jesse?" I screamed.

I was there. It was that place between the worlds. And I was scared to death. Surrounding me was darkness except for a dense gray

cloud. This… cloud, there's no other word for it, was slowly forming little ropes of itself. The misty tendrils of fog enveloped me

tightly, getting me in a death grip.

I couldn't move, I couldn't see, but I could scream. And I did. I screamed until I couldn't anymore. It had been ten minutes at least of

shrieks and screams slowly getting quieter as I became hoarse.

With the ropes of smoke grabbing at my legs and arms, I was caught in space, dangling like in one of those dungeon scenes where

you're caught by your wrists and left to die. I am not kidding, this was not how I wanted to spend today.

Today… I should be eating lunch right now… Then why was I here? I thought hard, the fog in my mind diminishing a bit. What did I

remember last? A smoky line of darkness came closer to my neck, circling it until it was a complete circle right below my chin. Trying

to stay focused, I closed my eyes. I remember walking up to Jesse's apartment door with him. I was going to ride home with Adam

and CeeCee who were waiting right on the parking lot for me. Right then he had kissed me, and man, it was an amazing kiss. And

then… and then what? And then I was here.

It didn't make sense. The snake of fog circled my neck some more, getting tighter with every spin. What had once been a gentle

pressure suddenly became a constraining noose on my neck. _Oh this is funny…_ I thought in my hysteria, _I'm going to die like Jesse_

_did. Then I'll be dead and I won't be able to save me. But Jesse will save me. He always saves me. _

My neck was constrained even tighter. When I thought, _Shift, Suze!_ I had been an idiot. _Duh._ So I shifted back home.

Or at least I _tried_. I tried so hard. I had not shifted here in the first place, therefore, I need not shift out. I began to cry. I am so

completely not a crier, but I did. Wow, get a hold of yourself, Suze.

I stopped crying and realized my breathing was coming out in wheezes. It was because of that stupid noose. Who the hell was trying

to strangle me? _Paul…_ I thought.

Then I was home.

Well not literally. I mean, I was at Jesse's, but wherever Jesse is, that's my home I suppose. Anyway, he was totally in hysterics, on

the phone with none other than Father Dom, I knew because I could hear his equally hysteric voice on the other end. What Father

Dom was saying, however, was illogical to me, but the sound of them worried over something so much made me laugh and laugh and

laugh. It came out more of a groan then a laugh though, and Jesse immediately hurried his conversation with the good Father.

I could feel Jesse's cushiony couch beneath me as I turned my head and looked at CeeCee and Adam, who were, surprisingly in

complete panic also. This sudden movement caused my head to spin and I closed my eyes to stop the splitting of my head between

my eyes.

Jesse, who had just finished his conversation with Father Dom, grabbed my shoulders. "Not again, querida! Stay awake!"

Aw, he'd called me querida. What a sweetie. Hurry up and kiss me, Jesse. I can't stay awake much longer…

That was when I felt a disgusting-tasting liquid slide through my mouth, then into my throat and I spat it back out. Unfortunetly since I

was lying down, it ended up _not_ defying the laws of gravity and right onto my face. "Susannah, you have to swallow it."

"No, Jesse…"

"Yes."

"But…"

"Querida, trust me."

So I did, and in twenty minutes, the whiskey taste was out of my mouth and I was cradled in Jesse's arms on the couch. A couple

Advil and my headache had gone away too. The silence hadn't lasted long after my touch with death. Okay, that's a little

melodramatic. But whatever, I mean, how many times have _you_ been in the passing between the spiritual worlds and ours and almost

killed by a big gray fog-thingy? My point exactly. Like I said, the silence didn't last long. "So was that just the effect Jesse has on you,

Suze? Because seriously, if that's the case, maybe I need to start kissing CeeCee like that more."

"Adam!" CeeCee tried to hide her laughter, knowing that I had just had a near-death experience or something.

"What? I just…" Adam trailed off as CeeCee pulled him toward the door.

"Father Dom is coming to pick you both up to drive Jesse to his talk about Carmel in the 1800s and I told your mother that's where

you'd be for lunch and whatever. She really is glad you've taken an interest in history." CeeCee smiled meaningfully at me as she

dragged Adam out of the apartment.

The door closed silently behind them. "Oh, querida!" Jesse said with such pent-up emotion as he held me against his chest. "I thought

I'd lost you… you weren't waking up. Your head was so hot and clammy, you kept murmuring things and calling to me and saying

you were scared. I thought I was losing you. And then you said _his_ name. What did he do to you, Susannah? Did he send you there?

Oh, thank God you're alive." He continued holding me tight and started saying fast Spanish words in my ear that were full of sadness

and happiness at the same time.

I loved the way his arms felt around me and the way I felt the pounding of his heart against my cheek. If only I could stay there

forever. I explained to Jesse everything I could remember about the dream. He looked at me and saw my tired expression. "There is

an hour before Father Dominic picks us up for my talk at the Historical Society. I will watch over you. Sleep, Susannah."

"Okay," I said, relieved that I didn't have to talk anymore.

He stood up and got me a pillow from the nearby chair and I lay my head down on it. He kissed me lightly and said four amazing

words as I drifted off to sleep. Paul and his treachery could wait for punishment because I was falling asleep to the lullaby his four little

words sung to my heart.

"I love you, querida."

Little did I know, I was going to have to deal with one super-angry ghost tonight, and I needed all the sleep I could get.


End file.
